blogovich

Going on hiatus

There's an old Ian Hunter album, a live set, Welcome to the Club on which at the end of the last live track (there were some bonus studio cuts) Hunter says "I've got nothing else to play."

Which is how I feel. After many years of columns and blog posts and such, I'm just not sure I have more to say, or perhaps better expressed, the time, given other journalism duties, to say it. The spirit is willing but . . . so to speak. So, shutting down. For now. But holding the spot, just in case the mood strikes.

 

 

 

Leafs hold team meeting to address slump (uh oh)

I'm wrestling with retracting yesterday's post about the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The team, losers of two straight, called a team meeting today. Ah, the dreaded team meeting.

That usually spells trouble, indicates a team in disarray . . .or, means nothing.There are, wait for it, just 67 games left.

Seriously, get good goaltending in hockey (and No. 1 guy James Reimer remains out), most problems are solved.

 

Leafs booed off ice vs. Panthers?! Talk about fickle fans

I can't believe Toronto Maple Leafs fans booed their team off the ice following a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers tonight at the Air Canada Centre.

Sure, that's two straight losses for the Leafs, by a combined score of 12-1 counting Saturday's 7-0 shellacking at the hands of the Stanley Cup Boston Bruins.

But the Leafs - who have not qualified for the playoffs since 2003-04 and were not picked by many to qualify this season - remain second in the NHL's Eastern Conference with a 9-5-1 (won-lost-OT loss) record. Nobody expected that. If they say they did, they're lying.

Sure, it's a long season. There's obviously no guarantee this Leafs team will be any better than those that have gone before during recent seasons. But to boo them off the ice tonight after the wins they've already banked and the entertainment they've so far provided - likely more entertainment than they provided over the previous few seasons combined with teams that unlike this one had no apparent potential - is ridiculous. Particularly given the fact their No. 1 goalie, James Reimer, is injured.

And this is coming from someone who grew up a Habs' fan.